Casio VZ-1 / VZ-10M

The Casio VZ-1 was released in 1988 hot on the heels of the successful
CZ line and became Casio's flagship synthesizer, replacing the CZ-1 at the top end and
going flat out to town with the feature list, easily putting it toe to
toe with products from Yamaha, Roland and Korg. The case design also
reflected a more professional approach that Casio was taking; a sleek
and minimal all black design free from clutter with a brushed steel
front plate, making it a very impressive unit to look at - it is also
very well built having an all metal chassis, yet maintains a relatively
light weight making it especially good for gigging.

The first notable departure from the CZ line is the programming
interface, replacing analog-like button per function programming with a
page driven system similar to that of the FZ-1 released the previous
year. The large (for the time) backlit dot matrix graphic LCD display
made programming this synthesizer far easier than Yamaha's DX7 and DX7-II; envelopes and
signal path, for example, were edited graphically rather than a number
at a time and in text only mode and several parameters were viewable on
screen at once. Unlike other synthesizers on the market at the time, the
edit pages were not nested and their location and function were clearly
marked on the front panel above the menu and function buttons.

The VZ-1 takes a hybrid approach to its sound generation. Where the CZ
line used Phase Distortion Synthesis and the Yamaha DX line used Phase
Modulation (incorrectly advertised as FM), the VZ-1 uses Phase
Distortion for ring modulation and waveform generation but true
Frequency Modulation Synthesis to generate harmonics. The end result is
a unique and hauntingly space-age sounding synthesizer with many smooth
"twangy" textures - but it can also be very harsh and noisy
when complex phasing is employed. Thumping bass-lines and sweeping pads
are its strongest points but it is also very capable of analog-ish brass
and strings.

The Casio VZ-10M rack mount

The voice architecture is similar to the Yamaha DX synthesizers in that
you have several oscillators that link together to generate extra
harmonics via some form of algorithm. Where the DX7 has six oscillators
to choose from, the VZ has eight. Each oscillator is part of a
"module" and each module has a long list of functions
independent of the other modules: Waveform, detune, envelope, envelope
depth (that also functions as oscillator volume), envelope velocity
sensitivity, envelope key follow and amplifier sensitivity. Each module
is then arranged in 4 pairs: A, B, C and D. The first module in a pair
then has the option to mix with the second module (similar to a dual
oscillator synthesizer), ring modulate the second module or phase
modulate the second module. The output from this can then be sent to the
main output, or used to modulate the second module of the following pair
(for example: the output from Pair A modulates the second module in Pair
B which is also being ring modulated with the first module in Pair B).
This freedom to pick and choose your own voice combinations allows for
some very wild and complex sounds.

Aftertouch was also rather generous for the time too, allowing
modulation of vibrato depth and rate, tremolo depth and rate, portamento
time, pitch modulation and envelope bias.

The VZ-1 also features a combination mode that lets you stack up to 4
patches on top of each other giving a total of 32 oscillators per voice.
Working in combination mode does lower polyphony, however, with 4
patches only allowing monophonic operation. Each patch in a combination
could then be velocity switched, velocity triggered, crossfaded, have
their tremolo and vibrato inverted, detuned, transposed and split across
the keyboard. Even today, this is an impressive list of features for a
non-workstation synthesizer. The keyboard also has two outputs that come
in great use when controlling over MIDI or when playing split. Some
careful trickery with Tremolo in combination mode with these two outputs
can also give you a stereo panning effect.

There are some drawbacks, however. Where other synthesizers of the time
could store up to 128 patches in memory, the VZ only has 64 (8 banks of
8 slots) and the ROM cards were limited to a max of 64 patches due to
the way the front panel was laid out. The synthesizer does not contain
any onboard effects or a sequencer and the presets are of the typical
cheap Japanese keyboard affair - with the only usable patches out the
box being the DX7-ish slap bass guitar and e-piano.

Although easy to program, especially when compared to a D-50 or a DX7, the long list of
parameters that need to be edited for each individual module make this
synthesizer very tedious to program larger sounds and textures. Add on
the complexity of its sound engine and how twitchy it can be and it may
end up frustrating to those not well versed in synthesizer technology.

Despite these failings, the synthesizer is still bewilderingly powerful
and versatile if you spend time to become better aquaintted with it and
it can easily become the focal point of any track with its uniquely warm
yet cutting tonality. They do often spring up at low prices but have
been increasing in popularity recently; some units in good condition can
fetch up to £400, more-so if an RC-100 ROM Card is included.

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